This post is part of the Shed series on Blue Jay Blog where interesting internet finds are shared.

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My day took an unexpected turn when Stuart, a reader, shared something delightful that Google has created – Google Earth Timelapse.

Utilizing high-resolution satellite imagery, Google has developed a timelapse showcasing the Earth’s surface evolution from 1984 to 2016 within four seconds. Google explains:

After analyzing a vast amount of satellite images, we selected the best pixels from over 5,000,000 images to create 33 snapshots of the planet, each representing a year. These 3.95 terapixel global images were then converted into over 25,000,000 video tiles at various resolutions.

The highlight moments have been collated into a 40-minute YouTube compilation which I may or may not have binge-watched entirely.

I’ve picked out my favorites from the compilation. Here they are (best viewed in full-screen):

One captivating category is the expansion of cities. Some cities were already highly developed in 1984 and display subtle changes. For example, New York:

Similarly, Downtown San Francisco shows incremental development with new buildings appearing on the well-established cityscape. Keep an eye out for the emergence of the Oakland-San Francisco bridge:

However, cities that have undergone significant development in the last three decades are mesmerizing to watch. To an outsider observing Earth from afar, city expansion resembles the spread of a virus. Take a look at Bangkok:

Or Beijing:

Here’s Cairo with the birth of a new city, New Cairo City, on the right side:

Chinese cities exhibit remarkable transformation. For instance, Chengdu:

Hefei:

Shanghai underwent a striking metamorphosis between 1990 and 2010:

This aerial view captures Shanghai’s drastic change:

Moving on to Kuala Lumpur:

Followed by an intriguing growth journey of Dubai, which took on a whole new form around 2000:

A noteworthy transformation is evident in Al Khiran Pearl City in Kuwait, where a few miles of beachfront have multiplied exponentially:

Another fascinating category is farmland. The yearly crop variations result in visually appealing timelapses, like this agricultural area in Cologne, Germany:

Or a charming timelapse of rural California:

This segment of Nebraska, resembling TV static in timelapse, is quite intriguing:

This captivating timelapse from Bolivia demonstrates the emergence of farm squares over time:

A mysterious yet visually captivating timelapse from Rondonia, Brazil:

In Zwenkau, Germany, the last entry in any alphabetical list, it appears as though a series of lakes was intentionally created by the Germans or formed as a byproduct of farming practices:

This timelapse of Madagascar depicts deforestation from an aerial perspective:

Glaciers also present a fascinating sight in timelapse. Typically moving at a glacial pace, timelapse reveals the flowing motion of these frozen rivers:

For instance, observe the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica melting over time:

Water bodies also undergo notable changes. Numerous lakes around the globe are drying up, like Utah’s Great Salt Lake:

Or the Aral Sea shared between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, dwindling due to Soviet irrigation projects, causing an environmental catastrophe:

Iran’s Lake Urmia is also experiencing a drastic decline:

Timelapses offer a unique perspective on the meandering paths of rivers:

It’s unfortunate when a city is built along a river only for the river to change course later on:

Lastly, view the impactful effect of dams through these striking timelapses:

For the complete compilation, click here, where you can select any location on Earth and witness its captivating transformation over time. (In case the link is not functional, you can access it here.)